Unraveling peace
by greeneyeswhitefang
Summary: The elemental nations had found their peace. But what had been the sacrifice? As the leaf's newest Jinchuriki, Naruto must fight his own destiny to try and save the elemental nations from falling to ruin.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

**The price of peace **

Black clouds heavy with rain rolled and rumbled in threat on the horizon. But even as fat droplets began to fall, staining the ground a darker brown than it already was he couldn't bring himself to move.

_Was it worth it? _

He asked himself the same question many times over, the words running through his mind but he got nothing but echoing silence in return. Opening tired eyes to the scene, he looked on at the remnants of chaos that had been left over, scorched earth, craters the size of a house and the shining red liquid spattered across the dirt. Each burn and stain told a story of the fight that had taken place a few hours ago. He could almost see it replayed again, the ghosts of the players clashing in the sky above him and the echoes of metal clashing and screeched threats resounding in his ears.

_How could he let this to go on?_

Peace had been achieved but at what price?

Sighing he slowly turned frail limbs just before a yellow blur flickered into view in front of him.

"Hokage-sama" the figure said bowing low in respect.

"Minato, there is no need to be so formal" he replied, a ghost of a smile that didn't reach his eyes flittered across his face as he ushered the young man up.

The man rose to stare at him with dead eyes. "Sarutobi-san" his return smile was just as forlorn. "I brought him to you as requested"

The old man's gaze turned to the young boy that Minato held in his arms. Wrapped thickly in blankets only a tuft of blonde hair could be seen poking out.

_And so it continues. _

"No one knows?" he asked.

The blonde seemed to crumble at the words. "Yes Hokage-sama. Our relationship was of the worst kind and so kept in the dark. No one knows of the abomination we bore"

The words stung his chest, each mechanically given syllable piecing his heart worse than any Kunai could. The man before had been broken beyond what anyone should survive. For such happiness to be considered treachery of the highest degree… it was just wrong. Again he asked himself, was it worth it?

Slowly he stepped forward taking the bundle from the younger man. As soon as he was relieved of the weight the man's arms immediately dropped to his side, his face downcast so that rain sodden bangs could cover his dead eyes.

The Hokage was surprised by the boy's weight as he held him closely to his chest. "He seems healthy" he uttered almost to himself.

"The peace has made our village prosper. Orphans are able to be fed, housed and clothed as much as the richest child"

Again the words pieced the old man's heart. Mechanical words driven into every Shinobi, citizen and child that resided in their village. They were taught that peace had been obtained and so they should be grateful for the sacrifices of the few for the profit of the masses.

_But what happens if it was the few that you cared for?_

"He will be honored. Be considered a hero" the Hokage said trying to give some comfort to the young man.

Slowly the man raised his gaze to meet the Hokage's, and finally some emotion flashed within their depths. "Like she was?" he growled out.

The Hokage dropped his gaze; he had no words that he could offer to this man. He was torn, ripped apart at the seams.

"By your leave Hokage-sama" the man nodded curtly before disappearing in the same yellow flash that he had appeared in.

He sighed as he remained standing, the rain now in a downpour coating him and the new vessel that he held. Lightning flashed in the distance and still he did not move. _Was this peace? Or just a means to an end? _

Suddenly the child began to mewl in protest as the cold began to seep through the blankets into his pale skin. "Sssshhhh" he murmured soothingly the bundle before turning his back on the battlefield and moving slowly towards the hospital. His movements were stiff as he ran on autopilot, his feet gradually bringing him closer to his destination and the child's sacrifice.

_Was this really the only way?_

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**A/N - So hope you enjoyed, more about the AU will be explained in the next chapter so don't worry if you are confused. Pairings are up to you readers, let me know of any that you like. **

**As always please review also to let me know what you think. Updates will be unfortunately irregular but I'll try to keep them frequent at least. Also sorry for the length but is only the prologue, upcoming chapters should be much longer. **


	2. 1 The life of a Jinchuriki

**Chapter 1**

**The life of a Jimchuriki**

They said that he shouldn't cry. That was the first rule.

They said that it would show weakness to the other villages… the biggest taboo in his world. To show weakness.

So during his training he refused to let the tears fall, even when his body was covered in blood, seeping from a hundred wounds. He never cried once.

But right now he was in his cell. That was what he called it in any case; the others called it his home. A damn nice one they also called it. They said he should be honored, apparently the likes of him had been treated a lot differently… before.

Looking around the room he had to agree with their point. The furniture was made from the finest mahogany imported all the way from the rich rainforests in the south of his country. The sheets that covered his king size bed came supposedly from the same supplier that made the Fire Lord's own sheets. The bathroom was the same layout as the Hokage herself had. No one could ask for a more pleasant place to stay.

Yet he still called it his cell because he was never allowed to leave. That was the second rule.

The only time he was allowed to leave was for training with his sensei and once a year where he actually got to see the village on his brief walk to the Hokage tower. He lived for these days, where he could feel real sun warming his skin and a real breeze ruffle his hair.

Turning he looked at the glass that made up the fourth wall of his room. Until he was five it had held genjutsu to show him the picture of the sun shining into his room and villages walking about as they did their weekly shop or met up with friends.

At five he had been able to break the genjutsu. The window now showed the steel walls just outside the glass that stopped the ground from caving in on them. Of course they had tried to put it back in place but every time he had broken it. He didn't want to fed false images of a life he didn't have so they stop trying.

So that was his life, waking up at the same time every day to walk down the corridor where he would have the finest food for breakfast, then his training would commence until the fake sun in the training room windows had sunk below the horizon. Dinner would then be served on a silver platter, before he was told to make his way back home. Entering back into his room he would let the tears fall that he had refused earlier in the day, letting the cries tear through his body until he was too exhausted to move a muscle and sleep claimed him.

Stretching tired muscles the blonde stood up deciding to take a shower before quitting for the night. He winched as his legs met the soft carpeted floor. Today's training had been particularly tough, involving the fighting the leaf's top two taijutsu specialists until he could incapacitate them both within 15 minutes. Only taijutsu had been allowed to be used and he was now feeling the effects of the limits he had to push to down the two green spandex clad Shinobi.

He had to let a smile onto his face though as he remembered the two Konoha ninja. They had been so enthusiastic and each time he had knocked them out, they had been up bounding to their feet 10 minutes later. He hoped he would see them again soon; they made his training a little less dull.

Turning the water on he let his body slowly relax, just concentrating on the pounding rhythm that the water drummed on his skin. It was as he was reaching for his shampoo that the dizziness came upon him. It happened so fast that it was all he could do to tear the shower curtain from its rails so that it would soften his fall before the blackness surrounded him.

_Gradually he came to, the dripping water splashing off his face alerting him to the place he had woken up in. Letting out a groan he hauled himself to his feet using the wall beside him for support as he held his head. _

_**Couldn't wait till I was safe on a bed could you, Kyuubi, **__he thought. _

_Shaking his head to try to get some focus to return to him he slowly made his way down the maze like sewage passageway. The first time this had happened to him it had taken him hours and a few hundred hints from his resident to find the right destination, not that he knew at the time where he was supposed to be going. But now he feet were able to find the path easily and within 10 minutes he was standing in front of the huge cage that was housed in one his mindscape's many chambers. _

"_Couldn't you have waited 10 more minutes Kyuu" he grumbled as a figure slipped through the cage's bars and walked towards him. When the Kyuubi had done this the first time, Naruto had been petrified eyes darting to the piece of paper that read seal on the cage to make sure the Kyuubi was still contained. The Kyuubi had chuckled at his panicked look and merely explained that the figure he saw was merely the manifestation of the chakra that Naruto had gained access to during his training and that the bulk of the Kyuubi's power was still locked within the seal. _

_Naruto glared at the approaching red head still holding his head where he had probably hit it off the sink in his bathroom when he had collapsed. _

_Kyuu merely glared back. "Walk with me" he said when he reached his vessel and gestured back out into the maze of corridors. _

_Naruto huffed but followed the older man. _

"_You did well in training today. Probably could have taken the younger one out in 10 minutes but you did a good job brat" _

_Naruto just glared suspiciously at the demon in human form. "Since when do you compliment me Kyuu?" _

_Kyuu, as Naruto called him, remained silent and kept on walking forward, his footsteps echoing in the cavern like area. _

_The pair walked on in silence for a few more minutes, Naruto simply because he didn't want to be the one to break the silence. It was obvious the demon had something on his mind and he wanted him to get to it on his own time instead of letting the demon get sidetracked by a thousand questions that he wanted to ask. _

_After about 5 minutes more, and Naruto was certain he was quite lost again and hoped the Kyuubi knew where he was going, Kyuu spoke up again. _

"_Tomorrow is your tenth birthday" It was a statement rather than a question so Naruto stayed quiet, hoping he would continue on with his train of thought. "I came to you when you was 1 year old, probably the earliest that a demon had been sealed within a human sacrifice."_

_Naruto flinched. He hated that word. "Is that so" he ground out. _

_The Kyuubi turned to look at him, red eyes seeming to see right into his soul. "Sorry" he said before turning back to continue on the walk. It was some length before he spoke up again. "Tomorrow you'll be summoned to the Hokage's office" _

_Naruto sighed, he knew this. It was the date of his yearly visits to the Hokage that was scheduled so she could check on his progress. "Get to the point will you Kyuu" he finally said, impatience getting the best of him. _

"_For some strange reason I've taken a liking to you brat, just like I did your mother. She not only survived 4 tournaments in a row but also made sure Konoha came out on top in every one." _

_Naruto was about to speak but was cut off by the Kyuubi again. "Tomorrow you won't return back here. By here I mean your room in the base" _

"_But, I always return, it's my prison." Naruto said confused. _

_The Kyuubi sighed. "This will be your first tournament Naruto. The Hokage will want to prepare you for the next month's going ons." _

"_Okaaaaay" he replied dragging out the word to show he was still confused by the whole concept of him staying outside the base. _

_Another sigh escaped Kyuubi's lips. "Naruto, just be prepared okay? The next month and a half will be the toughest you've ever faced." _

_A smile lit up Naruto's face. "Aw you're worried about me Kyuu, that's so sweet" he couldn't resist teasing the great demon. _

_Kyuu let out a growl. "Kid you'll be against the toughest ninja in the elemental nations. They've been trained in the same way as you, some with more ruthful methods as certain villages are more desperate than others. Do not be surprised if cheating is going on" _

_Naruto nodded a grin still plastered on his face. He didn't know to worry; he had always been able to take down every opponent his sensei threw at him. "Don't worry Kyuu-chan, I'll be fine, I am the container for the most powerful Bijuu known to man-kind after all." _

_Kyuu stared at him a bit longer before his shoulder seemed to slump and the third sigh of the night escaped him. "I hope so kid. However there is one more thing I need to discuss with you" _

_Naruto finally stopped smiling as he regarded the demon's serious composition. "Yeah?" he prompted. _

"_While you on the surface, we won't be able to contact each other" _

"_What?!" Naruto exclaimed. "Why?"_

"_While up top, you'll be under constant surveillance to make sure you do not show signs of losing control" Kyuu growled out, anger flashing within the depths of his eyes for a second. "So you blacking out in order to talk to me will be consider suspicious. If they suspect in any kind of way that we have a relationship of any kind, they will ripped me from you and throw me into the next human. A process that will kill you" _

_Naruto stood shocked, wide blue eyes staring at the Kyuubi as if he had suddenly told him he secretly liked flower arranging. _

"_But… no they wouldn't… surely?" he stuttered. _

"_Kid, you know more than most what Konoha is capable of" Kyuubi replied anger again lacing his tone. _

_Naruto slumped, defeated. Of course they would. He was just a means to an end; he was stupid to forget it. "Yeah you're right Kyuu" _

"_Sorry kid" _

"_Ah it's all right Kyuu, not like it's your fault. So I won't be able to speak to you for a whole month and a half" Naruto asked looking for any hope within Kyuu's eyes. _

"_Sorry kid, I'll look for any opportunities, but it is most likely not going to be possible. If you were older we would be able to communicate just in your head like I did with your Mother, but your mind is not ready for that amount of Chakra yet" _

"_Can't we try it?" Naruto almost pleaded. _

"_No!" Kyuu's eyes flashed a brighter red for a second and Naruto could feel a sudden surge of Chakra coming from within the sealed cage. _

"_Right, okay" _

"_The risks are too high" Kyuu explained. "Right, now off with you! You're going to need your rest for the coming months" Kyuu smiled ruffling the boy's hair fondly. "Be careful and do not be too cocky. These ninja will try anything to get their villages on top, got it?" _

_Naruto nodded. _

The scene began to swirl and soon he found himself back on his bathroom floor, shower curtain tangled around his body and water still pouring over him from the shower head.

Groggily he sat up rubbing his temple where the pain seemed to have tripled from what it was when he was talking to Kyuu. Slowly he disentangled himself and turned the water off. Wrapping a towel around his waist he walked back into his bedroom before collapsing on his bed and letting the warm covers envelop him. He suddenly felt nervous. Since he had been to converse with the demon that resided within him they had talked almost on a nightly basis, discussing techniques or engaging in a little after hours training. It was these training sessions that Naruto thought enabled him to bring down any enemy he was faced with. The Kyuubi had taught him nearly every strategy to cope with every situation whereas his sensei's had been set only on the improvement of ninjutsu, taijutsu and genjutsu, and equipping him with an arsenal of moves but never explaining him how to use them and which would be strongest in what situation. They thought he just knew all of that because of natural talent.

So to have to go nearly 2 months with what looked like no contact with the demon… he gulped. He would be entirely by himself.

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**A/N - So a bit more about what's going on in the elemental nations, some of you might be able to figure out what's going on but for others it'll be explained in the next chapter. **

**Hope you enjoyed, leave a review to let me know what you think and also if you have a suggestion for any pairings you would like to see during this story. **


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